Squadron Members of the 77th Swords (Updated)
Commander Christopher Manstein (Squadron Leader, Alpha 1)
Lieutenant Anya Mitchell (Alpha 2)
Lieutenant Louis Alba (Alpha 3)
Ensign Jack Johnston (Alpha 4)
Captain Amy Junique (Beta 1)
Senior Lieutenant Gordon Zimmerman (Beta 2)
Lieutenant J.G. Franz Albertz (Beta 3)
Chief Warrant Officer Sydney Burkman (Beta 4)
Captain Nick Hothsteen (Gamma 1)
Ptah Lieutenant RaNah (Gamma 2, Vasudan Pilot)
Ptah Lieutenant SiHah (Gamma 3, Vasudan Pilot)
The alarm sirens wailed incessantly as every man or woman on the Asteroid Base scrambled to get to their action stations. The hallways were jammed full of technicians and officers. The state of activity on the Base had never been so high. It seemed that the station suddenly had four times the number of people manning it. The pilots on the base were all in the briefing room. The room was almost empty with the loss of so many pilots the previous day.
The Base Commander entered the briefing room practically galloping. He bounded up to the front of the room were he slid in a disc into the projector, the image of a Shivan fleet appeared. "This is the Shivan fleet around the jump node to Vasuda Prime." He stated. "In less than four hours, the GTVA will send the newly commissioned 6th fleet through the node. The Shivan fleet consists of three Lucifer superdestroyers, two Ravana destroyers, four Lilith cruisers, and six Cain cruisers."
Louis whistled, "that's a lot of firepower."
"You're very right in that statement. That's why we have to provide a distraction. The Saber and the Pirate Killer will never stand up to a frontal assault. Instead, we will use the Mussolini to cover them in a sensor jamming field. Gamma wing, now including Ptah Lieutenant SiHah from the 135th, will be armed with basic TAG missiles. They will plant these beacons on the larger targets in the area, such as the Lucifer superdestroyers, and the Ravana destroyers. When those beacons start transmitting, the Saber and Pirate Killer will open fire with their forward beams from over a thousand kilometers away."
"Will the cannons be effective at that range?" Amy asked.
"Yes. The beam cannons maintain destructive force over distance, that's their strongest part. That is why this plan will give us enough firepower to cut a portion of the Shivan fleet to shreds."
"What about the other portion?" Gordon asked.
"The Shivan fleet is currently in a blockade position around the jump node. They are expecting us to come through it. We have to give the impression that our strength is much stronger than it really is. We have to make them think that they should turn around and face us. That is when we will signal the GTVA and they will send the 6th fleet through the node. I'll personally be directing the battle from the Mussolini."
"How big is the 6th fleet?" Chris asked.
"The 6th fleet is not a traditional fleet. The core members of the fleet include a trio of heavily modified Orion destroyers. These destroyers are known as the Firestorm Battalion. They are called the Fire Dawn, which always comes through the node first, the Fire Dance, which is always second, and the Fire Dusk, which is always last. The rest of the fleet consists of several Deimos corvettes, Aeolus cruisers, and a new ship, the second of it's class, the Stalwart, a Saphah class frigate. It will resemble the Cypher you saw not to long ago."
Louis whistled again. "That's a lot of firepower."
"But you all know what's at stake. If we don't draw the Shivan's attention away from the jump node, the fleet will be slaughtered. You will have to hold your own until the Firestorm Battalion can launch all of their fighters, which totals eighteen fighter squadrons. Are there any questions so far?"
"How long must we draw their attention?" RaNah asked.
"Honestly, we don't know, we're assuming the more destructive we are, the more the Shivans will want to destroy us. Which mean they will need to turn their ships around to try and hit the Saber. They will lack targeting data, so their efforts will take the coordinated firepower of the entire fleet to have any chance of success. As soon as they are turned, the 6th fleet will enter the jump node and will be here in three minutes."
"Now, to craft and individual wing assignments." The Commander cleared his throat. "Alpha wing will fly Artemis bombers and will blast away at the cruisers. Beta will fly Ares heavy fighters and are charged with protecting Alpha. Gamma will fly Serapis fighters, which will combat the enemy fighter wings, providing general superiority. Raven squadron, designated Delta, will fly Erinyes fighters and must also provide general superiority against all hostile fighters. I cannot stress the importance of neutralizing as many enemy fighters as possible. Half of the fighter squadrons coming off the flight decks of the Firestorm Battalion will be flying Hydra bombers, the new Artemis bomber. Enemy fighter threats must be dealt with quickly. We're also bringing in a group of four Hygeia support vessels, they will reload the cyclops torpedoes of Alpha wing. Delta wing will have a secondary objective to keep those support ships alive. Any questions on the mission?"
"So we're flying Artemis bombers loaded to the gills with cyclops torpedoes." Anya stated.
"That's correct, we need you to dump as many warheads as quickly as you can. I honestly wish we had some bigger bombs, but Helios torpedoes weren't given to us before we began this operation. We want you to take the time in between bomb dropping to shoot as many beam cannons off the destroyers too. Remember, the Lucifer superdestroyers aren't invulnerable, they don't have the special shielding that the original Lucifer had. If all goes well, we're going to be able to massacre these Shivans and bring in enough firepower to clean out the Harbringer, wherever it is. Now, I've got to get on that AWACs ship, I want you all ready to go within a half hour."
Chris pulled Anya aside after the briefing. He had a growing feeling of dread, dread that he would lose Anya in this battle. He faced this dread every time they went into battle, but it was greater now that they we facing greater odds than ever before. "Anya," he began, "I'm worried." His voice failed him. He took a deep breath. "I don't want to lose you, but I can't..... I can't shake the feeling of dread."
Anya put her arms around his neck and pulled him close enough so she could kiss him. "All we have is faith, in each other, and our squadron members. I've got the same feeling, and it's awful. I would be devastated if you died, as I know you would be if I did."
Chris relaxed slightly in her grip. "Thanks."
"For what?"
"Just for being here for me. I owe you more than I can ever repay."
"I owe you just as much. I guess that makes us even." She kissed him again. "However, we'd better get down to the hanger. We have a battle to win."
Chris razed his Artemis bomber off the fighter deck's metal plating floor easily, then shot out into space. He could already see the Saber, Pirate Killer, and Mussolini arrayed together, ready for the subspace jump. He stopped his bomber just below the Saber and slowly, his squadron joined him.
"I cannot believe such trash serves in the GTVA." SiHah stated harshly over the comm."
"What are you talking about?" Nick replied.
"The Saber, Pirate Killer, and Mussolini are former Hammer of Light ships."
"I resent that Gamma 3." The Vasudan commander of the Saber replied harshly. "I will admit that I once served them, but the attempted murder of our own Vasudan brothers was impossible for me to take. Not to mention, Hammer of Light doctrine was to flee at the sight of Shivan aggressors, not to engage, even to defend ourselves. We were not to engage the gods. I will never soil my honor by doing such an action. The Shivans also destroyed Vasuda Prime. No gods would ever do such a thing. That was when my service to the Hammer of Light ended. I defected to the PVN shortly there after, where we then were assigned a task force, assigned to hunt down all Hammer of Light traitors."
"So that's how you got the small battle group?" Louis asked.
"Correct Alpha 3. The Saber was a gift for our exceptional service in hunting down Hammer of Light traitors. The Mussolini was added along with the Pirate Killer from groups of mercenaries that joined our crusade against the Hammer of Light."
"Explain how a military grade AWACs ship ended in the hands of mercenaries." Gordon stated.
"The Mussolini belonged to a civilian science station. This station was in the middle of a turbulent nebula in Tanis Australius. They were sold the Mussolini to aid in their detection capabilities, which are significantly better than even standard AWACs, due to the scientific nature of it's mission. I am a Vasudan warrior, I will not flinch from my duty to the GTVA."
"But you still believe the Shivans are more than they appear?" Chris asked.
"Yes. They are obviously not gods, but I believe there is more to them than their xenophobic tendencies. If only we could understand them, talk to them. That however, seems impossible."
"I brings up an interesting point, why did the Shivans destroy the Capella star?" Anya added. "I mean, there had to be some real reason for it. They lost eighty juggernaughts just to blow it up. It had to have been for something."
"My personal theory is that it created a bridge to an unknown star system, maybe another galaxy or dimension. Maybe it was a way for them to go home. That still doesn't make it easy to understand why they're here in Alpha Centauri, or what the Harbringer's crew is doing.."
"All forces," The Base Commander's voice boomed over the comm. "We're going to enter subspace in a few moments. All wings, report in."
"Alpha 1 here, ready to go." Chris stated.
"Beta 1 here. Beta wing is ready to go." Amy stated.
"Gamma 1 here, engines are primed and ready." Nick seemed excited.
"Delta 1 here. Delta wing is ready for battle. May god protect us." The leader of Raven squadron was obviously a religious man.
"This is the Saber. All systems are ready for battle."
"This is the Pirate Killer, we're set to go."
"This is Support 1. All warheads are loaded. We're ready to go whenever you're ready."
"All ships, enter subspace." The Base Commander stated.
The GTVA pilots exited subspace only four kilometers from the Shivan battle group. Chris quickly noticed that the Lucifer superdestroyers were missing. "Command, we're not reading any of the Lucifers." He stated. "However, I've got confirmation on two Ravanas, four Liliths, and six Cains. Shall we proceed."
"Proceed as planned." The Base Commander replied. "Gamma wing, the Saber and Pirate Killer are on-station, TAG the Shivan destroyers."
"Roger that." Nick replied.
Three Serapis fighters raced ahead of Chris. Chris accelerated to full. "Alright, everyone keep your eyes open. I don't see any Shivan...."
"Shivan fighters are launching from both Ravana destroyers." The Base Commander stated. "Gamma wing engage once you have launched your TAG missiles. Alpha, target the Lilith cruisers. You primary objective is to neutralize their beam cannons, so save your torpedoes."
"Roger that." Chris replied. "Anya, take the second Lilith, I've got the first. Louis, attack the third, Jack the fourth. Remember, target the main cannon, then the secondary beam cannon. Use one torpedo on the main cannon. Then regroup with me." Chris targeted the Lilith's primary beam cannon. He then raced towards it.
"Here comes the Maras." Amy yelled.
"Got one!" Gordon screamed.
"And another." Franz yelled excitedly.
"You like that." Sydney taunted as she obviously destroyed her first target.
Chris ignored the insane amount of radio chatter and focused on his target. He was closing rapidly. As soon as his torpedoes began to lock onto the target, the flak from the Lilith's side cannons started showering him. Chris redirected the power from his engines to his shields. He was quickly right on top of the cannon, in which he fired his torpedo. He road the shockwave from his torpedo for a short distance before turning around and firing at the second beam cannon just in front of the engines on the Lilith. The second beam cannon quickly became a smoking crater.
Chris pulled up just in time to see the first shots from the Saber and Pirate Killer slam into one of the Ravana destroyers. True to the Commander's word, the beam cannons left deep gashes in the destroyer's armor. The second shots left equally destructive marks in other locations on the same destroyer.
"Got the cannons." Anya yelled.
"Same here." Louis screamed.
"Rejoining." Jack stated.
"Command, what's our next target?" Chris asked.
"We've softened up the one destroyer, and the other is turning. Target the damaged destroyer, we're switching targets and calling in the 6th."
"Alpha, target the damaged Ravana's weak points. Let's blow that thing up." Chris linked all of his torpedo banks and raced for the Ravana. It was practically unheard of for a single bomber to fire off six torpedoes at once, but it was possible. Chris watched as each set of torpedoes slowly begun to lock onto the Ravana's hull. Meanwhile, Chris and his wingmen closed the distance with the destroyer, getting hammered by the flak cannons.
Once they were very close, they released their torpedoes. Twenty-four cyclops torpedoes impacted the destroyer at once. The results were devastating. Massive fissures formed all over the Ravana and plasma started leaking from all over the ship.
"She's going in!" Louis screamed, just as a massive explosion tore through the destroyer's hull.
Chris road the shockwave out of danger, but severely depleted his shields in the process, just as a Mara fighter targeted him. Chris threw his bomber into a spiral, trying to bring the Mara into his sights. He managed to get four shots into the Mara's full functioning shields, before the Mara jumped out of his sights.
Chris took few shots into his rear shield, which he quickly transferred energy from his other shield quadrant to recharge. He then rammed the throttle to full reverse. The Mara fighter raced past him. Chris fired mercilessly as the Mara raced past, punching through it's shields with his Prometheus cannons. Amy finished it off with another burst from her Prometheus cannons.
It was then, that an Orion destroyer came racing through the jump node. Written on it's side was the Fire Dawn. It opened fire with all it's beam cannons the second it came through, vaporizing the second Ravana destroyer. It then shot past the Shivan fleet, turning as it went. Then another Orion destroyer came through the jump node, this one had Fire Dance written on it's side. It used it's beam cannons to slice through three of the Lilith cruisers, just as the Fire Dawn fired a second time, vaporizing the remaining Lilith and two Cain cruisers.
Next came the third Orion destroyer, the Fire Dusk. It, the Fire Dance, and the Fire Dawn quickly vaporized the remaining four Cain cruisers. Then, the remainder of the 6th fleet came through, including four Deimos corvettes, four Aeolus cruisers, and the Stalwart. Then a large convoy of Triton freighters came racing through the jump node, followed by several argo transports and two Vasudan Sobek corvettes.
Then the fighters began to come racing off the flight decks of the three Orion destroyers. In only a minutes all eighteen fighter squadrons were arrayed around the fleet. Chris managed to get a good look at one of the Hydra bombers, which looked almost identical to his Artemis bomber except that it was painted grey with black and red stripes. The Hydras were also flying much faster than the Artemis bomber's top speed.
"This is Admiral Loyde." Admiral Loyde was on board the Fire Dawn. "Admiral Kristine Loyde and Admiral Yaleson are on the Fire Dance and Fire Dusk respectively. We're here to bail your asses out of the fire."
Chris smiled as the Mussolini, Pirate Killer, and the Saber exited subspace. They were saved. This operation had been an incredible success. Now all they had to do was track down the remaining Shivan forces and end the threat once and for all.